


will you defy fate

by weirdlywisely



Category: One Piece
Genre: Ace is Hypnos, Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Greek Mythology, Angst with a Happy Ending, Demigod Sabo, F/M, Fate & Destiny, Greek Mythology - Freeform, M/M, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Roger is Hades, Rouge is Persephone, Slow Burn, Soulmate au sort of, or will it be
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-11
Updated: 2018-03-03
Packaged: 2019-03-16 20:30:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13643886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/weirdlywisely/pseuds/weirdlywisely
Summary: or will you let it lead you ?Fate is what rule the lives of people. Even more if those people were not simple mortals. Sabo didn't want it to make decisions for him. But going against fate, or destiny, isn't that easy. Especially when you keep on stumbling upon divinities or monsters.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hi ! i talked a bit about this greek mythology au and here it is ! 
> 
> note that im using my memory of greek class and those are at least 4 years old and im tweaking a bit the mythology bc well it doesnt work otherwise, im sorry if it bothers anyone !
> 
> but yeah it's basically an excuse to use the shit i learned in greek class and had fun with !   
> also i put some characters as divinities, some are still the greek ones, some aren't going to be mentioned bc it's complicated you know !

It was said that once, long long ago, humans, mortals, didn’t look as they did now. It was said that they were round, and had at least two heads, and two pairs of arms and legs. They were pretty powerful beings. As one big being, they worked well together. It all started well. They honored the gods, they were respectful to each others. The world was good. 

 

Until it wasn’t anymore.

 

Humans grew prideful. Too prideful. They turned their backs on the gods. They stopped worshipping them, or giving them offerings. They thoughts they deserved to be praised and worshipped themselves. They thought they were so much more than they were at the time. 

 

So they defied Olympus. 

 

They all gathered at the bottom of the mountain. All of them had planned to climb up Mount Olympus, and to defy the gods as a group. They were more of them than gods. They had the numeric advantage. They thought they could easily overpower them, and take their place. Be the one who looked over the world, and were worshipped. 

 

But in their illusions of grandeur, they didn’t take into account the powers of the gods. They ignored it. Humans were blinded by their own arrogance and pride. They thought themselves better, more suited to rule the worlds. 

 

They all started to climb up the mountain. All at once. 

 

This angered the gods more than anything else did. They debated about destroying completely humanity. They had already done it anyway. But it would have been a waste. Again. 

 

So, they decided to separate humans. 

 

The gods separated humans in beings with one head and one pair of arms and legs. And all of them had this sort of invisible hole, were they were linked to the person(s) they were, once upon a time, linked to. 

 

And that was how soulmates were created. To fight against the greed and pride of mortals. And to let them search for the person(s) they were meant to be with. 

 

* * *

 

 

The Underworld wasn’t such a sad and dark place, as common sayings would have people think. Sure, it could be a little gloomy at times, but it was still a good place for the souls of the dead to rest for the eternity. Well, eternity was a big word, as some of them chose to be reincarnated. The Elysian Fields were the nicest part of the whole Underworld, the souls of the brave or righteous rested there. It was were the King and Queen of the Underworld stayed too. The Asphodel Fields were where most souls rested, it was neither nice nor particularly gloomy, it just was there, neutral and indifferent. There was also the long Fields of Punishment, where the souls who committed minor crimes were sent to be punished. It was a grim and grey place. And finally, there was Tartarus. The place where all worst souls went. Where all the most horrible criminals, and persons, were punished. Forever. 

 

But overall, it was a good place to stay. Roger, as the king, made sure that the whole place ran smoothly. Well, him and all the other divinities who worked there. And Rouge, who as the queen used her powers to brighten up the place when she was down there. It was mostly thank to her that the place had more colors, she helped flowers grow all over the place. However, they were nothing like those that grew in the mortal world. They were all kinds of peculiar flowers. With an abundance of colors, and shapes. But always a bit different than those from above. A perfect mix between alive and dead. As they could not grow from the sunlight, they weren’t completely alive. 

 

Roger, King of the Underworld and of the Dead, God of wealth, and Rouge, Queen of the Underworld and Goddess of Spring Growth, had a son, Ace, who was the personification of sleep. As such, he spent half the year with both his parents in the Underworld, and the other half of the year with either of his parent, it changed every year. 

 

Ace loved to spend time in the Underworld, as it was where he could be with both of his parents, and because he knew every deity who lived there. People there were like family to him. But he also had his family outside of the Underworld. 

 

Because of the six months above the ground he got every two years, he met his little brother, Luffy, a daimon - a lesser divinity who also served as a guiding spirit and a spirit of nature, so he was often seen in the forests and fields, where he had actually met him. He had also met his Grandfather, Garp, who was way too scary for someone supposed to be the God of Harvest, Growth and Agriculture. But then again, this was the guy who almost rearranged his dad’s face when he married his mom, so that wasn’t too surprising. 

 

He loved spending his time in the mortal world, he truly did. The Underworld could be so bleak at times. Probably because he could navigate between the two worlds, it was more striking to him. Or it was simply the boredom of overlooking the dead. Not like he could even visit the mortal world at will. According to his mom, because he was still young, he needed to be careful around mortals. It wouldn’t do to accidentally put one under an eternal sleep. 

 

Not like Ace would do it voluntarily either. 

 

Mortals were way too fragile. It wasn’t his fault that he was literal Sleep. Slumber followed him, and he couldn’t yet control it totally. As such, he wasn’t allowed to approach mortals, as only immortals could survive his sleep attacks. And because, he didn’t trust mortals if he had one of  _ his  _ sleep attacks. 

 

Well, he did not trust most mortals.

 

Once upon a time, he did not trust any mortal. But that had changed not so long ago. 

 

He was still pretty young, only a few centuries old, when he met the mortal who changed his opinion of them. 

 

Ace still had this young appearance, it was easier to blend in as a kid after all. No one batted an eye when seeing a kid running around the woods and playing. And he was still young, so it worked out well for him. Nevertheless, he still stayed away from human kids. You could never be too prudent after all. 

 

Still, one day he had snuck away from Rouge’s watchful eyes. Or so he thought. And he had wandered farther away in the forest, closer to the edge of the woods, closer to the  _ polis  _ of the mortals. He hadn’t meant to, but it had happened. 

 

The forest was beautiful, in all it’s verdurous glory. The flowers lighting the place with all sorts of colors, seeming even more dazzling due to the closeness of Rouge. The sun shone through the branches and leaves, lighting the whole forest. Nowhere was too dark. The whole place could have seemed otherworldly, but Ace was used to that. He was used to beautiful fields, and striking forests, or flower gardens. The birds were chirping happily, adding to the light atmosphere. 

 

So it was with light steps that Ace wandered around the forest, ignoring the occasional sounds of animals falling heavily on the floor as they feel asleep because he stepped too close. Well, not all of them fell asleep, but he was still trying to control it after all. He didn’t manage much, but he was still trying. So that had to count for something. Right ? 

 

But it was as he concentrated on not making everything around him fall asleep that he stepped outside of the forest grounds. He didn’t notice at first, too concentrated. It was the sound of gravel crunching under his sandals that pulled him out of his thoughts and broke his concentration. 

 

Ace raised his head, his eyes were concentrated on the ground, but so lost in his thoughts he hadn’t noticed his surroundings. He blinked a few times, trying to get his eyes used to the light. 

 

There, in front of him stood a boy. He looked roughly the same age as Ace looked. Probably wasn’t close in age. The kid seemed mortal after all. He had short blonde hair and was carrying in his hand a wooden staff. He was frowning at Ace, gripping his staff tightly enough that his knuckles were white. He seemed wary of him. Like Ace was. 

 

Ace furrowed his eyebrows, cursing slightly at the fact he had been spotted by a mortal. He tried to make the mortal fall asleep, but he didn’t have enough control to not accidentally kill the kid. He still tried to send a little bit of sleep towards him but it didn’t seem to faze him. 

 

“Who are you, and what are you doing so far from the  _ polis  _ ?” The blonde kid asked, staff at the ready to strike him. 

 

Ace passed a hand through his hair, huffing. “Got lost,” he admitted. Because it was true, he had gotten lost. Sure he could probably find his way back in the forest, but it would take way too long. It was annoying. 

 

“You’re not from the  _ polis _ ,” the kid said, after taking a long look at Ace. 

 

Ace just shrugged, he didn’t need to confirm or deny this. The kid knew he didn’t know him, and that meant that the city was probably pretty small, or that he had memorized everyone’s face. He didn’t know what to think about that. 

 

“You’re from the forest, right ?” he asked.

 

Ace nodded, still wary of this kid. It was close enough to the truth anyway. 

 

The kind leaned a bit on the side, arms crossed, still holding his staff tightly. He seemed to be examining him. He leaned on the other side, the silence was starting to make Ace uncomfortable and he was ready to do anything to avoid the awkwardness and get back home. The only problem was that he could kill the kid, and he’d rather not. 

 

The kid started circling him, before suddenly throwing his staff at him. Ace reacted by grabbing it in the air and throwing it back with all his strength. It hit the kid right in the face and made the kid fall backwards. He didn’t expect it, and wasn’t ready for that. 

 

He sat up, rubbing his forehead, groaning in pain. He got his hand back on his staff and used it to help himself getting back up. Ace was glaring at him, ready to run away if he had to, not wanting to hurt the mortal more than necessary. But the kid deserved it too, so he didn’t feel bad for that. 

 

“You’re not bad,” the blonde announced, grinning and nodding approvingly, surprising Ace. “I’m Sabo, you ?” 

 

“Ace,” he said, not really believing this kid. Did the staff hit his brain too hard ? Who was introducing themself after getting hit in the face ? Mortals really did not make any sense to him at all. He was starting to reconsider trying to see more of them when he’d be older. At least if they were all like this. 

 

“You wanna be friends ?” 

 

“Okay ?” 

 

The kid - _ Sabo _ , Ace reminded himself that was the kid’s name- grinned at him, before pulling him towards the forest. He followed him, blinking surprised. Usually the person talking to him would already be asleep. It was so strange to him what was happening. It was nothing he would have expected to come out of this day. He had just planned to look around the forest, and perhaps have a bit of fun fighting some animals. Nothing much. And here he was, having made a mortal friend. What was the protocol to follow in those cases ? He had absolutely no idea. He wasn’t ready for that. 

 

So he decided to keep his mouth shut and follow the lead of his new friend. Perhaps it would work out well ? Plus, he liked the idea of having a friend who seemed to be his age. Even if he was mortal and that his life would be finished in the blink of an eye. He wasn’t that old, but he still was way older. A few centuries wasn’t that young, but for gods it was still very young. 

 

Well, good thing he could modulate his physical growth how he wanted, so he might base his own growth on Sabo’s. It might end up well. Who knew ? 

 

At the end of the day they went on their separate ways. Ace back to the forest and Sabo back to the  _ polis _ . 

 

And both were welcomed back in two different ways. 

 

Ace was welcomed by Rouge, who had a knowing smile on her face and a nod towards her flowers. He understood immediately that she simply used flowers to keep an eye on him, and saw that he had met a mortal and befriended him, through a strange chain of circumstances if he was being honest too. 

 

But, unfortunately for Sabo, his welcome wasn’t much of a welcome at all. 

 

He walked slowly towards the outer parts of the polis, dragging his feet the slowest he could as to not get back too early, or too fast. He kicked the pebbles of the small dirt road, trying to find something to occupy his thoughts, trying to find something to distract himself with, and slow down even more.

 

But there was nothing, except the dirt road, and the fields. Nothing to help him. Nothing to perhaps distract him. Even slightly. 

 

Soon, way too soon, he reached the downside of the hill from where he could see the walls of the city. He could also distinguish people working in the fields closer to the walls. He stopped a bit, trying, as always, to see farther than the fields surrounding the  _ polis _ . But no, as always, it was only fields and fields, for as far as the eye can see. Plain fields, and nothing more, with the small exception of bits of woods there and there, and the river that carried the water to the inhabitants. 

 

Sabo continued his way down the small hill, towards the walls, looking more somber with every step he took. As he neared the first fields, the workers raised their heads, watching him walk on the path. Sabo tried to ignore their heavy gazes, keeping his head up, trying to not squirm under it. He could see, from the corner of his eyes, a few of them nodding respectfully towards him, others waving but not saying anything to him. Not daring to. He hated that. He felt so alone in this place. No one ever approached him. 

 

He passed the walls, ignoring some of the louder whispers. He knew what people thought of him and he hated it. He didn’t ask for it. Didn’t ask for any of it. He didn’t want to be put above others because of things he didn’t have any control over. Especially by the other people themselves. It didn’t make sense really. 

 

Sabo sighed, he dreaded going back to his “parents” house. Could he really qualify them of parents ? Not really. They never were parents to him. He was nothing more than a tool for social status to them it seemed. Wouldn’t surprise him if they didn’t care if he disappeared other than because they wouldn’t be able to use him anymore. That was such a good place to live at, really. He didn’t hate every single second he was forced to stay there. 

 

He navigated through the cobbled streets until he reached the small hidden door on the wall of his “parents” propriety. He pushed it, and slipped inside, careful as to make sure no one saw him come in. He put his staff in one of the dark corners, making sure it wouldn’t fall. Then he slipped out from the room, exiting through a small hole near the bottom of the wall that lead into a slightly hidden part of the courtyard, thanks to the overgrown grass and trees near the hole in the wall. He crawled out, and tried to reach his room the most discreetly he could managed to. 

 

Unfortunately, as he turned to the last corridor, almost to his room, his “step-mother” caught him. 

 

“You ! Were you out again ?” She asked in a piercing, and unbearable screeching voice. “You should know better ! You’re better than all of  _ them  _ ! Act like it !” 

 

Sabo clenched his fists at his side, trying to not appear affected by the disgusted tone she used. He knew it would be worse if he replied, or if it had been his “father” who caught him. He nodded at her, hoping she would let him go like that. He didn’t want to turn towards her, so he just inclined a bit his head. Hopefully it would be enough this time. 

 

He should have known Tyche wasn’t on his side. Luck seemed to evade him. 

 

She grabbed his arm, forcing him to turn towards her. He was faced by her angry-red face, her fingers tightening their hold on his arm, enough to hurt. But he kept his mouth shut, and his expression impassive. 

 

“Look at me when I’m talking to you, boy !” She screeched once again. “We don’t have to take care of you, the least you could do is show some respect and gratefulness.”

 

Sabo had to hold himself back from sneering at that. Right, as if they “took care” of him from the goodness of the hearts. He was pretty sure they didn’t know how to feel anything other than disdain for anyone else. For their own ambitions they had even adopted another kid. Son of two citizens of course. It wouldn’t do otherwise for them. He knew they hoped that the kid, Stelly, would bring them political power by being elected and changing the rules of the  _ polis  _ so he could be the only ruler. Destroy the democracy in short. Even though it was far from perfect because of how the whole system was. Power to the people, yeah more like power to a minority of the people. And they wanted him to bring them something akin to status, glory. Something like that. 

 

As he seemed to do so often, he cursed his blood. He didn’t ask to be born like this. He didn’t want this. 

 

His “step-mother” let him go, giving him another glare and a threat of “your father will hear about your  _ escapade _ .” 

 

Sabo didn’t need to be told twice, he hurried towards his room, trying to find solace in the solitude there. He closed the door and sat heavily in the chair in front of his desk, trying to not damage the scrolls spread on the desk. 

 

He took his head in his hands, trying to ignore it all.

 

He hated having his life so traced out. He hated not having a choice. He hated this whole concept of fate. 

 

And above all else, he hated being a demigod. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so life is being... rough... like im in the middle of the semester, and like so many things are happening, and i have to think about my future... which is scary and coming so soon and so fast... so im pretty busy and very slow at the whole writing stuff... sorry!
> 
> but here is the second chapter! im proud i finished it right before the end of my break but well now im going back to uni soon so even less time to write ...  
> but i'll try to update regularly, more or less ! 
> 
> also this chapter could be named "time skip here, there, everywhere !" hahaha

Days passed, and every day, without fault, Sabo tried to find excuses to get out of the house, to get out of the _polis_ in general. Running away to the forest where he met Ace. Where he could be free. Where he could be himself. And not the version of him people wanted him to be. And most days, he could find good excuses, he could manage to find a way to get away from the oppressive atmosphere of this place. However, if his excuses did not work, he always ended up sneaking out. They couldn’t stop him, especially not when his mind was made up.

 

It had gone as such for a bit more than a week. The two kids meeting up every so often, for a couple of hours playing around in the forest. Unfortunately, all good things come to an end. And that end came way faster than they could have thought.

 

They were laying down, side by side, in a clearing, looking up at the cloudy sky. They were surrounded by a comfortable silence. The only sounds coming to them were the sound of the wind ruffling the leaves, the birds chirping joyfully, small animals walking on fallen leaves and branches, the small cracking of the forest. It was peaceful. A nice respite from the cacophony of everything.

 

Sabo finally felt like he could breathe. When he was there, he did not feel like he was suffocating. That was a nice change. He hated the whole suffocating feeling he was overwhelmed with every time he stepped past the outer walls. Every time he stepped in the _polis_ , he felt like he was drowning. He could feel everyone’s expectations weight him down. Pull him under. Everyone expected him to be great. The stuff of legends. To bring glory on the city. To make them feel important in the grand scheme of things.

 

He hated that. He _loathed_ it all.

 

There was no way he would do anything to bring glory to _them_. If they wanted glory, they would have to get it themselves. He wasn’t a thing that was going to listen and do what everyone wanted without speaking up.

 

And he wasn’t going to listen to what some sort of oracle that would decide what his destiny was. No, he was going to do as he pleased, and ignore this whole fate thing.

 

Sabo sat up suddenly and jumped to his feet, a determined expression on his face.

 

“Sabo ?” Ace asked, surprised at the sudden movement. He was almost asleep, lulled by the calming sounds of nature. And the sudden jump had chased all drowsiness he had felt. For the personification of sleep, that is comical.

 

The blonde turned towards him, looking down at him from his standing position. He then sat back down, his eyes still focused and determined.

 

“I came to a decision,” he announced, his voice serious, a more mature look in his eyes than you would think.

 

Ace sat up as well, surprised by his friend’s attitude. He had not expected this at all. He didn't say anything, waiting for Sabo to keep talking. For him to elaborate his thoughts.

 

“You know fate?” Sabo asked him.

 

Ace raised an eyebrow. “Not personally,” he answered without thinking.

 

This earned him a strange look from his friend, but he didn't raise it. After all, Sabo had noticed that Ace sometimes said strange things but he thought it was just an Ace thing.

 

“Well, fuck fate! I'm not gonna let it decide what my life is gonna be for me!”

 

As he said that, Sabo jumped back up on his feet, raising his fist towards the sky, as if ready to fight. Ace just looked at him before he looked back to the ground, underneath which was his father’s realm and where he knew the Fates lived. He then looked up to Sabo, wondering if he should tell him about that.

 

Sabo turned back to him, sitting back down suddenly. “You think it’s dumb ?”

 

“Huh ?” Ace blinked at him, not expecting the question. “No, no, no ! I think you should do whatever you want.” He shook his head violently.

 

“I just…” He trailed off, hesitating. “My.. family,” when he called them that he frowned, his mouth turning down in disgust, he hated being linked to them in any way, “tries to control everything I do, and will do. Because of what I might bring to them. Glory, fame, shit like that.”

 

Ace knitted his eyebrows. He wasn’t expecting that. Well, they didn’t talk much about their personal lives. They hadn’t known each other for long after all. And well, it seemed they both had secrets they didn’t want the other to know. Perhaps in time. Who knew ? They had time after all. Ace had made sure he would grow more or less like a human would, so that he could grow up and age with his friend. It was his first mortal friend who didn’t faint when he lost control, so he wanted to keep him for as long as possible. And hopefully, still be friends when he would die. After all, what was the use of your dad being the king of the Underworld if you didn’t get to still see your mortal friends ?

 

“Why would they think you’d bring them stuff like that ?” He asked, a bit confused still.

 

Sabo paused at that. He glanced quickly at Ace before looking all around him, trying to avoid the other’s gaze on him. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Ace, well not completely at least, but he didn’t want his attitude to change once he learned that he was a demigod. It had happened way too many times.

 

He turned back towards his friend, racking his brains to find a plausible explanation to why his sort-of-caretakers-who-weren’t-really saw him as a thing that could bring them something. Fortunately, he was used to making up excuses on the spot.

 

“Well, they just want to further they standing, and they think using kids as their way to make connections is an okay thing.”

 

Ace frowned even more, trying to wrap his head around that.

 

“Is it a mortal thing, it’s probably a mortal thing,” he muttered under his breath, talking to himself.

 

“What ?” Sabo asked, not having heard him, and finding his muttering slightly strange.

 

“Nothing !”

 

“Right, as if that’s not suspicious.”

 

Ace just punched him in the arm, distracting him for his muttering. Sabo snorted with amusement at that, deciding to ignore it.

 

“So, because your guardians are using you, you don’t want to follow fate ?”

 

“I don’t want anyone, or anything, controlling my life.”

 

Ace nodded at that. He could understand. Kind of. At least his parents didn’t force him in anything. It was just that he sometimes lost control. Usually it was when he was overcome with emotions, which happened more often than not. And well, it kind of controlled his life. But at least it was nothing close to what Sabo was living through.

 

Neither of them added anything for a few moments.

 

“What about soulmates ?” Ace asked, the thought hitting him suddenly.

 

“What about them ?” Sabo blinked, not sure where his friend wanted to go with his question.

 

“Do you refuse to have a soulmate too ? Because they’re kinda decided by fate, for mortals and all,” Ace explained.

 

“Do you think deities don’t have soulmates ?”

 

“I mean, it was a human thing right ? I don’t think they have one…”

 

“Then, would demigods have them ?”

 

Ace frowned thoughtfully. It was a good question. He wasn’t sure, if he was being honest. He hadn’t really put that much thought into that. Soulmates weren’t something he had expected to put much thought into. He should have thought about it before befriending a mortal.

 

“I don’t know,” he ended up saying. “They’re kinda mortal, so yeah. But they’re also not really simple mortals, so it could be a no… It probably depends ?” He shrugged.

 

Sabo nodded thoughtfully, as if that made a lot of sense for him. As if the reflection was important to him. Ace didn’t dare open his mouth then, not wanting to disturb his friend’s reflection.

 

Then, after a few instants, he seemed to get out of his thoughts. “Okay, then I guess it doesn’t matter! I would rather choose my soulmate anyway. So I’ll see.”

 

“But, is it really choosing if you were meant to be with that person from the start ?”

 

“How would I know ? I don’t care! I choose my soulmate and that’s it !” Sabo shouted, jumping up for emphasis.  

 

This made Ace fall back laughing at his excited face. To which, Sabo answered by going to tackle him and tickle him until Ace couldn’t breathe anymore. He couldn’t gulp any breath of air between his laughter, and he could feel his control slip away. He tried to escape Sabo, so that he wouldn’t put his friend in a too-deep sleep, but to no avail. But for some reason, Sabo seemed to choose that moment to stop, even if briefly.

 

“Do you apologize ?”

 

“What for ?” Ace asked, wheezing. He took a large gulp of air, trying to regulate his breathing once again.

 

“For laughing ! I am totally serious !”

 

“Okay, okay ! I’m sorry,” Ace conceded, still wheezing.

 

Sabo climbed off of him, lying too on the grass, laughing while Ace tried to calm his breath and his erratic heartbeat.

 

And here they stayed. Laying on the grass, wheezing with laughter. Ignoring the world around them. Ignoring their roles and responsibilities. Just enjoying each other presence and friendship.

 

These days of peace stayed for a couple more weeks before Ace had to go back to the underworld with his mom.

 

He met up with Sabo at their usual place. They spent the day exploring, as they always did. Having fun, not a care in the world. As usual.

 

It was only at the end of the day, when they had to part, and go home to their respective families that Ace finally dared to broach the subject he had been dreading for these past weeks. He knew their time had to come to an end eventually. He didn’t like it. Didn’t like thinking about it. But it was the truth.

 

He took a deep breath, catching Sabo’s wrist before he left the woods, on the path towards the _polis_. It was now or never. And he didn’t want to let his friend down by disappearing without any word. He just hoped it would be okay when he would come back. Even if that was in a long time.

 

“I have to leave,” he said, looking at him, as if ready to fight.

 

Sabo raised an eyebrow, not understanding. “Yeah ? Like everyday ?”

 

Ace shook his head. He felt anxious at the idea of angering, or upsetting Sabo. He didn’t want them to part on bad terms.

 

“My mom and me, we’re going to my dad’s place… And we’re staying for some time.”

 

“And ? I’ll see you when you come back! When will it be ?”

 

“After the winter after this one,” he trailed off, shoulders tensing. He was readying himself for a bad reaction to that.

 

“What ?” Sabo gaped, not believing his ears.

 

“I’m staying with my dad for a few months… But I’ll come back with mom after that!” He tried to explain quickly, afraid that the other would abandon him.

 

Sabo looked at him, frowning. He felt a bit hurt that he didn’t trust him to tell him before. Was he such a bad friend ? Was he that untrustworthy ? Did he think he would react badly ? The more he thought about it, the more hurt he was feeling. And the more his silence stretched out, the more Ace felt himself falter. He should have known this would happen. He should have known. He knew better. He knew better than to get close to a mortal. He knew better than to let himself get attached. He knew better than to try and find friends who would leave him. Be it by dying or just because they didn’t want to hang out with him anymore.

 

“But you’ll come back ?” Sabo asked, to make sure, after a long stretch of silence, putting his own feeling of betrayal to the side.

 

Ace simply nodded, not daring to look at him.

 

“Okay! I’ll wait for you here after the winter after this one then ! So we can see each other as soon as you’re back !” He said grinning.

 

Ace’s head snapped back up, surprised. He didn’t expect that anymore.

 

“Okay! I promise I’ll go see you as soon as I’m back up here !” He exclaimed happily.

 

And here they both stood grinning, before awkwardly saying goodbye. They didn’t know how to actually say goodbye for a long time. So they just went on their own ways, waving back, feeling a bit disappointed but knowing they would meet each other soon enough.

 

Hopefully.

 

* * *

 

 

Months and months passed. Winter came and went, followed by another summer that made Sabo feel even lonelier than he had been before. He missed his friend. He had thought it would be okay, he was used to being alone after all. But it hurt even more to be alone after he had spent weeks with someone else, having fun, finally enjoying life.

 

And, as soon as he got used, they had to part. He thought that he could do it. After all, a few months were nothing compared to the years of loneliness before that. But those few months ended up being pure torture. He did the same he did every single day, he escaped from the house, at least as much as he could. And he ran away to the forest, exploring, learning how to fight by fighting people who tried to attack him, or wild animals. But he was bored. Utterly bored. Completely bored. This was way more fun when he had someone with him.

 

But once the next winter had come and gone, Sabo felt excitement fill him up. He couldn’t wait for his friend to come back here.

 

He went to their meeting spot every day, waiting for him to finally show up.

 

And when he did, he lunged at him, his trusted staff at the ready, ready to greet him with a fight, as they used to. He grinned when Ace got into position, ready to fight him as well.

 

And soon, it was as if they never were separated. Landing punch after punch, kick after kick. They had so easily fallen back in their old habits, in their old rhythm. It was sort of comforting, in its own way.

 

It was as if nothing changed.

 

For the next months, the two kids grew closer and closer. Learning about what happened with the other during the year and a half they had spend apart. Well, they tried to recount what happened when they were apart, while trying to not let their own secret out. It worked out well enough as long as they didn’t get in the details of their retellings of the events in their lives during the last few months.

 

As such, all was well for the next six months they spent together. They fell back in their old routine.

 

This spring, and the summer following, were probably the happiest months in Sabo’s life.

 

Sometimes, Ace acted a bit strange, like this one time Sabo caught him arguing with a flower right before they met up. Or that other time he kept glaring at a field of wheat, for some reason. But except those rare, a bit strange, occurrences, nothing noteworthy happened in their lives.

 

If he was being honest, Sabo thought it was him, producing some kind of illusion at first, and confusing his friend without meaning to. He had, after all, during the past year, discovered that his mother, his godly side, had given him some sort of control over illusions, and some sort of magic. Or he thought it was from his mother, but as he had never met her, and he wasn’t still one hundred percent sure on who she was, he couldn’t be sure. Although, to be fair, illusions didn’t seem like a human thing, so he was pretty sure it came from his mother. And who was he to refuse something that helped him sneak out, and avoid his guardians ? But, to be sure he wouldn’t have any problems, he hadn’t told anyone in the city. He refused to let them use him. They could all go fuck themselves if you asked him.

 

At the same time, Ace feared the exact same thing. Or actually, something similar. He had noticed that, if he wasn’t careful, he could fall asleep anywhere, at anytime. Which was becoming really annoying as he spent more and more time within the mortal realm and didn’t feel like hurting them by losing control. Of course, he got better, but he was still a bit of a danger for mortals. Except for Sabo it seemed. For which he was very glad. Really. But it was still strange, he thought. But mortals were strange in general anyway. He would know, he saw a lot of dead ones in his dad’s realm.

 

But overall, it was one of the happiest moment in Sabo’s life, even with the strangeness that could come with Ace. Which is why, when September showed up, he wasn’t ready to say goodbye. Didn’t really want to say goodbye.

 

Yet, he had no choice. He couldn’t run away. Okay, that was wrong, he could totally run away. But from what Ace said about his dad’s place, it seemed like Sabo couldn’t follow him there. Which he realized, he didn’t know much about his friend’s family. It would be quite hypocritical for him to complain about it to his face, but he would complain in the privacy of his own mind.

 

So, they said their goodbyes, with promises to meet again in a year and a half. Again.

 

The seasons passed, one after the other. Again and again.

 

And once again, they met up after some long months.

 

Neither of them had liked the forced separation. Neither of them had liked staying apart for so long.

 

They had met up again, same spot. Same time. It felt familiar once again. They felt like they belonged once again.

 

But it couldn’t have lasted. All good things come to an end. A cold, bitter, awful, and cruel end.

 

It was during the harsh heat of a summer day. One that made anyone want to stay inside, to avoid the sweltering heat.

 

Ace and Sabo were still supposed to meet up on the hill, near the forest, and go spend the day near the lake in the middle of the forest. As they had been doing during the last few days, trying to avoid the blazing heat of the heatwave, while still hanging out.

 

Ace waited for Sabo in their usual spot. But Sabo didn’t come. He waited for hours, but no hint of the blonde. So, he walked back, hoping that it was just too hot for him to handle the walk up the hill and that he would see him the next day.

 

Except he didn’t show up the next day either.

 

Intrigued, and a little worried, he decided to go to the city and ask to see his friend. Perhaps his guardians kept him inside, and he couldn’t find a way to sneak out. As such, it was his duty as his best friend to rescue him from this imprisonment. Plus he could handle to be around humans and not mess up for not even two hours !

 

Determined, he started to walk the path leading to the outer walls of the _polis_.

 

Once he went inside, he looked around trying to find someone to tell him where to go. He had no idea where Sabo lived after all.

 

“Didn’t you hear, kid ? There was a fire yesterday,” someone answered him after he asked where he could find Sabo.

 

“Where is Sabo ?” Ace asked again, feeling dread settle in his stomach.

 

“He and a few others didn’t get away from the house,” the person shook their head, muttering something about how sad this loss was for the _polis_ and its glory, before walking away.

 

Ace felt the breath being knocked out of his lungs. His ears were buzzing. Everything blurred around him. The world seemed to get farther and farther away from him. He felt himself slip away before the world became dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im really a slow writer im sorry ! 
> 
> anyway, not much on the mythology front (for now) but it's all coming soon! i promise! 
> 
> also, does anyone have an idea of who sabo's mom is ? tbh it won't play a big part in the story, i just live the deity very much hahaha 
> 
> anyway come talk to me on [tumblr](http://weirdlywisely.tumblr.com) i like talking to people!!

**Author's Note:**

> some explanations   
> i kept the greek polis bc it's a whole concept of city-state that the word city didn't convey well enough bc the polis encompass more than just the city   
> Tyche is the goddess of fortune and chance   
> and the soulmate myth at the start is the real deal (a bit different to make it longer and changed a bit but overall it's the same idea)   
> Ace is Hypnos bc well god of sleep, personnification of sleep   
> Rouge is Persephone and Roger is Hades (i wrote this because of them, it just evolved... a lot)
> 
> errr im not sure how fast i'll write it bc i have another wip too and weeeeeell studies and stuff hahaha
> 
> my [tumblr](http://weirdlywisely.tumblr.com)


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